


Only A Star, Only The Sea

by AquosEvolved



Series: Unwearied Heart [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Post-Canon, Post-Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright, Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:41:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27200587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AquosEvolved/pseuds/AquosEvolved
Summary: The first steps to recovery are always shaky. Those steps turn painful when what you used to fall back on is stripped away from you.[Day 3, Echo]
Relationships: Aqua | Azura/My Unit | Kamui | Corrin
Series: Unwearied Heart [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1982824
Kudos: 6





	Only A Star, Only The Sea

The night was almost perfectly clear. The only clouds were far-off wisps that gathered at the edges of the horizon. The silent majesty of the stars loomed endlessly over Azura’s head, as it did ripple out in front of her.

The blue-haired woman stood at the edge of a pier that jutted out into a pond. Her pond. Where she went to be alone - the irony that she met the love of her life while trying to seclude herself was not lost on her.

So much had happened since the fateful day when she met Corrin. She lost the woman who had raised her as her own daughter, gone to war, bloodied her hands. She’d fallen in love, protected those dear to her, and saved the world. And she’d lived to tell the tale. An entire year had passed since she last visited this secluded pond. Yet, for as much as her life had changed, the world around her failed to reflect it.

Spring had begun to turn to summer, and the trees reflected this. Most of the vibrant petals on the sakura trees had scattered to the winds. Everything was exactly as she left it. It was as if time had stood still for the little glade. Bitter envy seeped through her chest and crept up her throat. Time had seen her ancestors’ magic take its toll on her. Did she regret what she had done? Would she take it all back if she could? Of course not. What she had done was for the good of all.

She knew how petulant she was being; She had lived through the war’s end, as had Corrin. The two sacrifices she had dreaded the most had gone unpaid. She should have been grateful. And she was. Truly, she was. But her newfound frailty haunted her. Already, several days had passed since she awoke, and it wasn’t until that night that she’d been steady enough to make the short journey to her pond. And she couldn’t even do it alone.

For the first time since she set foot on the pier, Azura turned back. Corrin took a half step forward. From this distance, the dark of night obscured his face. Worry was still written all over him. After a moment, he withdrew. Several more tense seconds passed before he slowly nodded at her. Azura turned back to the pond, nervously licked her lips, swallowed her worry, and opened her mouth.

The one thing that was missing from her glade was her echoing voice. Ever so faintly, a string of wordless notes drifted forth from the blue-haired woman. Her voice was soft, yet steady. With a fragile hope in her heart, Azura began to add words.

“I know your face, I’ve met your eyes…” A pair of crimson eyes came to mind as her own golden ones slipped closed. “I’ve known you before...In an age gone by…” It was one of the few songs she remembered from her childhood in Nohr. A Nohrian folksong so old that none could remember how it came to be.

Ever so slowly, Azura raised her voice. “One of sisters three…” As her song rose, so did her heart. “Soul and song ever free…” Her heart raced and her chest felt tight, but she was committed. The songstress raised her voice even higher, trying desperately to reach a volume that once came so easily to her.

“Her harp ech-” Azura choked on the syllable. Before she could even process what was happening, Corrin thundered down the pier behind her. By the time she realized her body had given out beneath her, she was already in his arms. Her sides heaved and her head swam. Slowly, she cracked her eyes open. Shining rubies caught starlight reflected in the pond.

Corrin said nothing, looking at her quietly while worry and fear played across his face. Unable to bear that look for long, Azura let her eyes flutter closed. She could feel Corrin rise as he cradled her against his chest, one arm looped under her knees while the other supported her back.

As her love carried her back to Castle Shirasagi, she found herself breathing too hard to properly weep. So, with her sides heaving and her hammering heart heavy, she cried silently into the flannel of Corrin’s bedrobe.

**Author's Note:**

> My tendency to weave references to other media into my writing crept back to me as I wrote today's entry. The Nohrian folksong in question is very loosely based around fanmade lyrics for Nayru's Song from The Legend of Zelda; Oracle of Ages.


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